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New resources now available from the Asthma and
Respiratory Foundation NZ aim to empower families to better
manage children’s asthma.
The Foundation has
released its Child Asthma Action Plans and its Child Asthma
Symptom Diaries as digitally-editable documents, making
these resources even easier for families and health
professionals to use. The plans are available in English, te
reo Māori, Samoan and Tongan and are completed by the
healthcare practitioner, alongside the patient and
whānau.
“The concept of an asthma action plan is
simple, but powerful. These self-management tools
significantly reduce the chances of having a potentially
serious asthma flare-up, as they set out how to recognise
and respond to worsening asthma symptoms using the child’s
prescribed medication. As a result of being able to respond
quickly, GP and hospital visits are reduced and lives
saved,” says Foundation Chief Executive Letitia
Harding.
“Unfortunately, we also know that asthma
action plans are rarely used, despite the fact that New
Zealanders have one of the worst rates of asthma in the
world.” With 1 in 8 New Zealand children living with asthma,
and thousands being admitted to hospital every year, we need
to be using every tool available to improve asthma
management, and we know asthma action plans work.”
By
making resources available in a digitally-editable format
and in multiple translations, the Foundation hopes that
families will be empowered to better manage their
children’s asthma.
The Child Asthma Action Plan is
presented in a simple traffic light layout design; clearly
detailing the symptoms that show a child’s asthma is
well-controlled (green level) and then what to do if asthma
worsens (orange and red levels). It contains details of all
current asthma medications and doses, how to respond to
worsening symptoms and what to do in an asthma emergency, as
well as important health contacts.
“The beauty of
these plans is that they combine all the essential
information to effectively manage your child’s asthma into
one document, which can be referred to as often as
necessary. You don’t need to rely on your memory of your
last conversation with your health professional, much of
which is forgotten as soon as you get home” explains
Foundation Research and Education Manager Joanna
Turner.
“Our hope is that health practitioners will
save the digital templates to their desktop to fill in with
patients, during appointments. The plans can be then saved
to the patient’s medical records, flagged for regular
review, and then emailed back to caregivers or shared via
health management portals like Manage My Health. Families
can save the plans to their phone or other digital device,
so critical information is always readily accessible. The
plan can then be shared with other family members, schools,
sports coaches, whoever might need that information,”
explains Ms Turner.
The Child Asthma Symptom Diary is
an easy-to-complete, visual record of daily symptoms like
coughing and wheezing. It also records how many doses of the
child’s reliever inhaler have been taken in a day. The
digital diary can be easily shared with health
practitioners, providing a detailed record of the child’s
asthma symptoms. “These can be an invaluable tool when
health practitioners are evaluating the impact of asthma day
to day, particularly when asthma may not be well-controlled,
eg. after a cold or chest infection, or if a new medicine is
initiated” says Ms Turner.
The Foundation’s digital
asthma management plans for children and adults are
available here: https://www.asthmafoundation.org.nz/resources/topic/asthma-action-plans
The
Child Asthma Symptom Diaries are available here: https://www.asthmafoundation.org.nz/resources/child-symptom-diary
The
development of these digital plans was made possible thanks
to generous funding from The Pelorus
Trust.
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